Tag: Rich Franklin

("When you put your focus on one thing, you tend not to focus on the journey. Once you get there, it’s not going to be as big of a deal as you thought it was going to be.")

This Saturday, Rich Franklin will step into the Octagon for the 18th time to face Forrest Griffin in the co-headlining feature of UFC 126. During his 12-year career, Ace has experienced everything from championship glory to bitter defeat, and now stands as one of the sport’s most revered statesmen. “I think that what people will remember me for is that I’m a tough competitor who’s put on entertaining fights for the fans all these years," Franklin tells CagePotato. "And I’m happy with that kind of legacy.”

Rich was generous enough to give us some phone-time recently, and instead of asking him about his gameplan for Forrest, we discussed Franklin’s career as a whole, from the moment he decided to pursue MMA as a full-time job, to the fight that changed his life, to every other notable moment that helped forge the fighter he is today. Let’s begin…

The Early Days, 1993-1999Rich Franklin: “I started training in traditional martial arts in 1993, then I saw the first couple UFCs and started doing some jiu-jitsu. I was training at a Royce Gracie chapter here in Cincinnati, and the guy who was leading my class was a blue belt. By today’s standards, if the best you had in your area was a blue belt, you’d be way behind the times, but in 1994 it was a big deal to have that kind of a resource. So I was doing jiu-jitsu, working with kickboxing coaches, and of course I’d been watching the UFC, learning off instructional tapes and all those kinds of things.

I started fighting at these little local amateur shows out in Richmond, Indiana, and clearly at that point in time, I was just light-years ahead of the competition that was showing up at the event. The promoter told me, ‘These are amateur events, I don’t really have anybody for you to fight.’ But there was a gentleman there who said, ‘You know what, I run a pro show, and I’ll pay you to fight." And he offered me 200 bucks. I was like, ‘Wow, I can make money fighting? This is great. I’m gonna make 200 bucks." I was bankin’.

The big question mark whenever Vitor Belfort’s doubters talk about how successful the Brazilian powerhouse will be in upcoming bouts like his middleweight championship tilt with Anderson Silva on Saturday night at UFC 126 is where his head’s at.

When his sister Priscilla was kidnapped in 2004 in the week prior to his UFC 46 championship bout with Randy Couture, "The Phenom" admitted that the situation was weighing heavily on his mind. Because he spoke openly about the emotional effect loing her had on him, many assume that he never really got over the ordeal even after her kidnappers substantiated fears that Priscilla was dead, confessing in 2007 to her killing.

Subsequently, most of Belfort’s detractors chalk his eight MMA losses up to him being mentally fragile, even though they all came against present and future champions and only two were via stoppage. If being beaten by Chuck Liddell, Alistair Overeem, Randy Couture and Dan Henderson in their prime makes you a mental midget then guys like Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva must be psychologically retarded as well.

Earlier today, Shane Carwintweeted that he expects to return to the Octagon at UFC 125 (January 1st, Las Vegas), but doesn’t have an opponent yet. He also promised that "If I knock my opponent out on 1-1-11 in the 1st round at the 1:11 mark I will give the gloves to a follower on Twitter." In other words, Shane will probably be hanging on to those gloves.

So who is this mystery opponent? The answer might be the most obvious one. Sources have informed MMAFighting.com that the UFC is trying to book Carwin against TUF 10 winner Roy Nelson, though the matchup could be delayed depending on Nelson’s knee surgery recovery. Carwin and Nelson had a brief Twitter feud in August regarding steroids and obesity, so they already seem to dislike each other. Plus, both guys are coming off of nastylosses, so the fight also has a nice redemption angle. Makes sense to us, especially since UFC 125 needs a prominent co-headliner. We expect Carwin to be the odds-on favorite in this one. Who’s picking Big Country for the upset?

Thanks to everybody who submitted captions for our second Beatdown caption contest we had more entries for this one in the first hour than our entire Boston Fan Expo Lackey contest, which is both telling and hurtful.

Serously, who wouldn’t want to hang with Ben and ReX13 for a weekend in beantown? Rex might have even shared some of his sweet dance moves with you.

So who will get to enjoy Beatdown in the privacy of their own home? First some honorable mentions…

"Only after one of the girls asks Rich exactly what a BJ-J is, Does he realize he signed up for the wrong seminar and it clicks why MJ is the instructor." -El Supreme Nacho

"Photographic proof that Michael Jackson is indeed in hell." -Beelzebuddy

"…Rich wakes up with a throbbing headache. He’s in a motel room he doesn’t recognise. He can’t seem to remember how he got there. He swears he only had the one drink. There’s a photo of him and three chicks with a Michael Jackson impersonator on a camera by the bed. "Weird", he thinks aloud. He hears a shower running. He’s starting to think he might have taken the girls back here for a night of "Rich creamy love", as he calls it. He hears high-pitched giggling from the bathroom, a smile spreads across his face.Then he sees it, a white sequined glove on the bedside table…" -Rear Naked Poke who painted such a vivid picture it was somewhat disturbing.And now the winners…

As promised, we’re giving you another opportunity to win a copy of the MMA flick Beatdown, out now on DVD and Blu-Ray. The rules are simple: Check out the photo after the jump of Rich Franklin and his buddies, and post a clever caption in the comments section below by tonight at midnight PT. We’ll announce our four favorites tomorrow, and you’ll bitch about how you thought yours was funnier. Now let’s get it…

According to Rich Franklin’s business manager, J.T. Stewart the former UFC middleweight champion will not require surgery for the broken ulna he sustained in his UFC 115 knockout win over Chuck Liddell last month.

Stewart told MMAJunkie that Franklin could be back in the Octagon as soon as December.

"He needed to make sure it healed correctly," Stewart said. "He was feeling good. A few days before (the doctor’s appointment), he was telling some people, ‘I don’t think I’m going to need surgery. It’s feeling pretty good.’"

As a toxin begins to turn the residents of Ogden Marsh, Iowa into violent psychopaths, sheriff David Dutton tries to make sense of the situation while he, his wife, and two other unaffected townspeople band together in a fight for survival.

Anchor Bay Home Entertainment has hooked us up with five copies of the gritty horror flick, which we’d like to pass on to you, our beloved readers. To claim one, you must come up with a clever caption to the photo after the jump. Please submit your entries to the comments section of this post by Thursday at midnight PT; we’ll choose five winners on Friday, who will all receive the movie in the format of their choice. Sound fair? Then let’s get to work…

("For years, Forrest Griffin has been waiting anxiously to find himself in a post-apocalyptic future. Why’s he so excited about the near-extinction of mankind? Think about it: with grooming and personal hygiene no longer a prerequisite to social acceptance, you can let your mutton chops grow and live out your secret fantasy of becoming Wolverine. You could kill squirrels with your bare hands, practice throwing knives all day, and never have to say ‘excuse me’ after farting." Props: Amazon.com)

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